--- title: Gun Tattoo Mistaken for Gun in Maine description: Workers in the area thought it was the real thing and called the police canonical: https://time.com/30385/police-thought-this-mans-gun-tattoo-was-real-so-they-surrounded-his-house/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-19T17:41:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:07:56.675Z og:title: Gun tattoo on man's stomach mistaken for gun in his pocket og:description: Workers in the area thought it was the real thing and called the police og:url: https://time.com/30385/police-thought-this-mans-gun-tattoo-was-real-so-they-surrounded-his-house/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74e739fcb7402ee1/69868622cd6848d1cb093aae/gun-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Gun-Tattoo og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Gun tattoo on man's stomach mistaken for gun in his pocket twitter:description: Workers in the area thought it was the real thing and called the police twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74e739fcb7402ee1/69868622cd6848d1cb093aae/gun-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Police Thought This Man's Gun Tattoo Was Real So They Surrounded His House > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7fa67545-da32-490c-8779-b113d9cf0bd7&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7fa67545-da32-490c-8779-b113d9cf0bd7&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=7fa67545-da32-490c-8779-b113d9cf0bd7&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7fa67545-da32-490c-8779-b113d9cf0bd7&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Mar 19, 2014 5:41 PM UTC  In this Tuesday, March 18, 2014, photo, Michael Smith, left, stands beside a Somerset County Sheriff deputy outside his home in Norridgewock, Maine. In this Tuesday, March 18, 2014, photo, Michael Smith, left, stands beside a Somerset County Sheriff deputy outside his home in Norridgewock, Maine. David Leaming / Morning Sentinel / AP  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Mar 19, 2014 5:41 PM UTC Maine State Police armed with assault rifles moved in on a man’s house because he was reported to have a gun on him. Turns out he did, but it was a gun…tattoo. You know, just a tattoo of a life-size handgun made to look like a weapon tucked into the waistband of someone’s pants. The _Morning Sentinel_ [reports](http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/Norridgewock%5Fman%5Fwith%5Fgun%5Ftattoo%5Fwakes%5Fup%5Fto%5Farmed%5Fpolice%5F.html) that a man in Norridgewock, Maine, named Michael Smith was woken up by a tree removal crew trimming branches Tuesday morning. Shirtless, he went outside and asked the workers to stop. He went back to sleep, but the workers thought he had a gun and called the police. Troopers surrounded the premises, but once the officers realized the gun was just some ink, they did not file charges. Lesson learned: always keep your shirt on. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/30385/police-thought-this-mans-gun-tattoo-was-real-so-they-surrounded-his-house/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/30385/police-thought-this-mans-gun-tattoo-was-real-so-they-surrounded-his-house/"},"headline":"Police Thought This Man's Gun Tattoo Was Real So They Surrounded His House","datePublished":"2014-03-19T17:41:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:07:56.675Z","description":"Workers in the area thought it was the real deal","url":"https://time.com/30385/police-thought-this-mans-gun-tattoo-was-real-so-they-surrounded-his-house/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Bizarre","Gun"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74e739fcb7402ee1/69868622cd6848d1cb093aae/gun-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74e739fcb7402ee1/69868622cd6848d1cb093aae/gun-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Gun-Tattoo","caption":"In this Tuesday, March 18, 2014, photo, Michael Smith, left, stands beside a Somerset County Sheriff deputy outside his home in Norridgewock, Maine.","creditText":"David Leaming / Morning Sentinel / AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/30385/police-thought-this-mans-gun-tattoo-was-real-so-they-surrounded-his-house/","name":"Police Thought This Man's Gun Tattoo Was Real So They Surrounded His House"}}]}] ```